


Baker and Desire

by Pickle_turtle



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bakery, Desire!Dorian Pavus, M/M, Modern Thedas, Roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2020-10-04 06:02:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20466200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pickle_turtle/pseuds/Pickle_turtle
Summary: In a world where demons and spirit live among mortal. Cullen Rutherford, though that life would be enough will work in Breadsmith bakery.But if life takes a new turn when he meet Dorian Pavus a desire demon.Warning: down here with pun and thinking about foodNear food porn, but with possible porn at the end.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Something](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/514757) by The twinquisition. 

Becoming a baker wasn't what Cullen had planned. Certainly not after being a Templar for almost a decade.

But after returning from his last mission, a radical change was about to take place where he could give up all hope of a miracle.

It was an outside operation, in a city in the midst of a civil war between traditionalists and pro-fad activists. Spirits and demons have been living on Thedas for centuries now, but just like the mage before, there are still people in some parts of the world who do not wish to live with them.

After his return, his nights became difficult, memories of death and misery haunted him. During the day every sound made him startle, going out had become a real challenge. He became irritable, closing in on himself. Blaming himself for what he could and should have done. Cassandra, an old friend of his, pushed him to talk to someone about what he'd been through. With her help and support, he understood that his past couldn't be changed. So he needed to find a new activity or hobby to help him overcome his dark thoughts.

Cullen wanted to find simplicity and joy again. His childhood memories were what he began to relate to. Especially his memories of Sunday afternoons in the kitchen with his brother and sisters. The smell of spices and bread coming out of the oven. The sound of bubbling water, the humming of a nursery rhyme with forgotten words. And even the taste of each dish he took with his wooden spoon. His mother and grandmother always loved to cook and especially to bake. Luckily they both managed to pass on this love to their children.

When their siblings were planning to bake a cake after the morning mass at their village choir, all four of them were present and enthusiastic.

Cullen chose each recipe and read aloud each step and ingredient. Cullen took care of his grandmother's recipe book, carefully reading each line, inspecting that each measure must be accurate to the gram. Mia, was in charge of the oven and added each ingredient. 

Rosalie and Branson shared the large wooden spoon to mix the ingredients. Add the last decorations whether that was fruit or coloured vermicelli. Each of their creations ended up looking like rainbow fragments.

From what he understood, their town had changed a lot since he had left. Mia, the eldest of the family, now had her own restaurant in their home village.

A shopping mall had opened in the former wasteland and a fast-food restaurant had opened in every town with more than five thousand inhabitants. Not to mention the health checks have become ruthless, that competitors and even jokers have fun calling them at the slightest opportunity.

In those moments Cullen thanked that these people exist, making Mia forget her own shortcomings.

Branson, a year younger than her, is now married to her primary school sweetheart and the father of a six-year-old boy. Cullen sometimes receives letters with drawings from his nephew. He keeps each of the drawings he receives, having bought a cork painting for the pins. The day he sent a picture of this improvised pin board, he received the most enthusiastic call from a child he could imagine.

Rosalie, the youngest, had the same mania as him for not giving news. Between her university classes and these trips abroad, their parent could not hold it against him.

But Cullen hadn't had the courage to talk to them in person since he left the army. From time to time he would give them news from time to time, to talk about Mia's maternal character, or more precisely her tenacity.

But cooking was just something he knew how to do. He couldn't bring himself to starve himself to death or to gorge himself on ready-made meals. He took the time to prepare each of his meals, looking for new recipes.

But one day after an unexpected call from his mother... He spent an entire afternoon in the kitchen, bringing out his mother's fears that she had managed to reawaken. It had been enough to talk to him, a reproach about his condition, which she knew he should never have let go, surrounded by her maternal love and concern.

Cooking was just something he knew how to do. Focusing on a task and doing it thoroughly had always been to relax, to refocus. He had never been able to bring himself to let himself starve to death or to gorge himself on ready-made meals. He took the time to prepare each of his meals, looking for new recipes. But this time he had tried to find in his memories the flavours of the dishes prepared for him by his mother as a child.

He found himself with enough stovies, a few fish fingers and enough Cullen skink soup to fill the largest pot he owned. He also made a butter pie trying to remember the recipe, his perfectionism pushing him to make four different pies, hoping that one of them would be enough to suit him.

He found himself quite embarrassed with all this amount of food. He had to make up his mind to call some friends he still knew in town. Surprisingly, almost all of them answered.

Josephine came with her girlfriend Leliana. Cullen had brought Josephine home a few years earlier on an embassy posting. When Josephine was still following her father, a prominent Antiva politician... He was pleasantly surprised when she moved with his girlfriend to Haven. Even more so when she found him and contacted him.

Cassandra also came with her companion Iron Bull. He and Cassandra had met The Iron Bull when they went to the gym regularly to train. The fact that the three of them became friends was not surprising. But that after returning from a mission of several months he returned to find that the two sorts together, it more than surprised him. But not so much now that the story has been going on for five years.

Krem, too, came, he too had met him at the gym and hadn't seen him for a while.

His neighbour, Varric Tethras, invited himself as well, followed closely by a young man he assumed was living with him. Varric is a journalist who used to be a pain in the ass, seeing him most often on his doorstep the day after his return from missions. But strangely Varric behaved, even now, no longer being a source of information for these articles, as someone sympathetic. He is one of the few people who, in one conversation, could make you forget your worries and get you to take action from a questionable system or to embark on a story worthy of a detective novel.

Varric's roommate Cole is a spirit who arrived a few months before. Despite Cullen's prejudices against the young man. He knows how to find the help that Cole is trying to give. On his good days Cullen would try to help the young man understand the world around him or answer any questions he might have.

This meal was one of the best he had had in years, his cheeks hurt so much he laughed and smiled that night. He can't escape the jokes about his name and the soup being the same, Cullen thinks. He didn't answer, cursing that his father was chosen his name because of the soup.

They talked for a long time about the changes and the different plans that each of them had. Josephine talked about her plans to open a bakery with Leliana and how she was worried that she had found a decent baker in Haven. Until a whim took hold of her. She offered him, Cullen Rutherford, a job as a pastry chef in a bakery that didn't yet exist. Even went so far as to offer him a partnership.

He found that hard to believe at first. But when he accepted, he knew the opportunity would help him overcome the pain that could be in his body with every move and the headaches...

A few months after the opening, they had enough regularity, on sunny or rainy days, that Josephine had to make up her mind to hire additional staff.

This is how Sera joined their little band. Her smile and good humor were pleasant, but her character and outspokenness could sometimes get them into strange situations. The children loved her, and she was very skilled in making icing and decorations.

The bakery became more than her work, it became her place of escape, a place to publish the memories that haunted her nights.

Every time the day seemed to be endless, every time fatigue began to make itself felt, one of the girls would end up asking her a question. It was always the same question: "Is everything all right?"

He'd laugh and say he had enough sugar, but he was trying to put magic in it. That sentence always made Josephine laugh; it managed to make Leliana smile. But Sera responded with a weird noise before sticking out her tongue and running out of the kitchen.

* * *

Living in a building two blocks away could be nice. But today was his day off, and he had no reason to come to work.

He could have stayed at home, in his empty apartment.

He tries to find a roommate, he swears, but the ones who showed up were always ten years younger and their lifestyle doesn't match a thirty-year-old former military baker with PTSD. The nights were precious; he started early, getting up before dawn, sometimes even earlier if he woke up with the nightmare.

So, for the time being, his apartment was empty.

He wouldn't be surprised if one of the girls tried to chase him away. He had one day off a week. He almost never took a vacation and always worked overtime.

Last winter Josephine and Leliana managed to chase him away; he had managed to catch a cold and didn't realize it until he almost fainted at work.

He sighed. He really was a lost cause, wasn't he? He needs a new hobby. Or new friends, meet new people. A hobby would be nice, fishing maybe or... knitting. He could bake cakes for... A dog would be nice. Did the owner say anything about pets?

Sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

Even the beings of the immaterial have the right to life. It's a slogan that too many mortals use instead of him, Dorian Pavus. There hasn't been an immaterial being for centuries. No immortals at all, only mortals. It was a long time ago when demons and spirits were born by the force of feelings and convictions, even Dorian, a demon of desire had a father and a mother. He belonged to one of the demon families of Tevinter who wished to possess as much as possible of what humans could bring. Manipulating and using them, making them believe that their desires were coming true, but it was all a lie, a dream. The demons only believed in dreams. Over time, they had learned to use them to their advantage.

Dorian wanted to understand humans and not manipulate them like the other demons of desire. But his family couldn't understand why Dorian didn't want to follow the traditions. He wanted to understand physical desire, his desires, not a dream. Yes, Dorian wanted to live. Conforming his tastes and appearance to what the desired people had become difficult, he began to desire. But this new identity could never come true in Tevinter, that's why he had gone south away from this megalomania and illusory world.

But when he arrived in Ferelden he walked into a dream himself. In reality humans had understood the subtleties of demons and spirits, and he used them to their advantage. Dorian was still unable to understand the world of humans, malice, and greed.

Felix had come to his rescue, without realizing it, he'd become infatuated with a human. He said he wanted to show him the world, but he left him in the dark most of the time. Now that Felix was at his side, helping him to understand the world around him. For this he often looked at the surrounding people. His first goal was then to understand what desire meant.

In the city of Haven there was a place that people went to fulfill their physical desire, Breadsmith. He never found the courage to go inside. He prefers to watch people coming and going inside. Humans, elves, and dwarves who came in always desire one of the pastries sold inside. To him, they were just little sugar devils personified.

Felix was the only one who understood what was going on in his head, even he sometimes didn't know. He had had to ask him just one question about the place for Felix to start bringing him cakes from there on a regular basis.

Until today, he had only seen three girls working in the store.

The first was a woman with a sophisticated coffee complexion. Dark ebony hair always with a braided bun. He never saw anyone outside the TV show wearing a bun like her, not a single strand escaped from her bun or braid.

The second was a redhead with blue Persian eyes, always wearing a blouse and a pencil skirt. The first time he saw her smile a shiver ran down his lower back. She could be a spirit of righteousness if she didn't seem so human.

And the last one a strange little elf, with the first two women, one could have accepted a little standing. But this blonde girl with a smile up to her ears, a torn grunge outfit, was a blot on the set.

And she had a burning desire; he could feel those desires across the street, every time a pretty girl passed in front of her.

The person in that shop, whom he had never seen before, was the one who made these little devils. Maybe if he saw him, he could understand what he was looking for.

For now, what captivated him was a man across the street looking everywhere but where he was going. Locks of blond curls on the top of his head, a square jaw, and a well-defined body. Well, here was a man he'd like to meet, behind a closed door. Sex and physical attraction was something he understood. Whether this man could experience the same kind of attraction was impossible to define, not without using his powers.

He quickened his pace slightly and stood right in front of the man in question. Posing with his hands on his hips. Getting right in his path.

"Hello. How are you? »

He let his jewelry and piercings glisten in the sun. He had two in each ear, a standard lobe pendant, and a helix. A spectrum in his nose and the gold necklace he wore at all times. He didn't need it to attract people's attention, but Dorian had always loved being a suncatcher.

He let his gaze wander over the chiseled chest he could appreciate under that polo shirt. The summer wasn't over yet, a gentle warmth still loomed in the air. He wore only a black cashmere top and slim pants of the same color. Just a moment before his gaze crossed that of the man in front of him. When their eyes met, he could not escape smiling at him.

"Oh, hello..." When the man noticed him, by the time he realized that it was indeed him who was addressing Dorian, surprise was written on his face before he blushed profusely. Dorian let him stare at him, he appreciated the expression of surprise on his face.

His expression, however, changed imperceptibly, hardening as his gaze fixed on the purple tail and horns. It wasn't the first time. Many stared at them, he felt suspicious at times because some people who noticed him had sometimes violent reactions. It's not as if he tries to hide them, it's true that he partly masks his appearance with tanned skin and black hair. For putting on his true appearance was much more uncomfortable and dangerous, one might think he was uncontrollable, even unstable.

But there was something new in the eyes that looked at him. It restored his self-confidence, making the pheasant feel dizzy and immature at the same time. His smile widened, he could hear him ask himself, "Why does this man want to talk to me? ».

Sometimes he could hear the thoughts of humans, but it was all related to desires. He could also feel the stress around him. It wasn't the present moment that made him feel that way, it was more like an accumulation. Dorian could only see a tiny part of the man's unconscious in front of him. And it was this part that attracted him like a magnet. He denied himself abundance and temptation.

But there was something else he could feel, a strange sensation in the hollow of his stomach. He could only find out what it was if he asked him. Yet this was not the kind of question he asked him, that he wanted to ask him.

"My name is Dorian and you...? »

The blond answered sheepishly. "Cullen. "Before he blushed again.

"So, Cullen..." The name was nice to his ears. A typical Fereldian name

"What would you like? " He stuck his tongue down his lower lip. He's trying not to use his power on him.

It's always easy to command the men he's attracted to, but he couldn't. He had to let Cullen decide.

Demons of all kinds had this ability to influence their words to become thoughts and decisions that humans would listen to. Spirits, on the other hand, soothe the hearts of men, making them better, but this ability, like his, came at a price. Dorian was as dependent on men as they were on his words. And this addiction, once cut, had a strong psychological impact.

"Desire?" Cullen's eyes, tilting his head to the side. Like he's trying to make sense of what Dorian is saying. Dorian could see in his eyes that this was probably the first time he'd ever been asked this question.

But the answer he gave was gullible and innocent at the same time. "We make very good chocolate cakes at the bakery."

A cake? He wants me to try the cake. Chocolate even, demonic sweets. Well, he'd met people with food fantasies before, maybe that was it. He remembered reading somewhere that it was some kind of aphrodisiac.

"We could probably buy some if you want to try it. ” 

They walked down the street for a few minutes, before arriving in front of the bakery, stylized black letters spelling out the name Breadsmith through the window.

Every cake in the store looked delicious, like little rainbows. But they were actually little devils. He could taste the sugar on his tongue just by the smell in the air. Cookies and pastries of all kinds were displayed on the bakery counter. Looking at the names on the different labels he could see names such as macaroons, solambs, Bordeaux flute, and Tarte Tatin. Some with white chocolate and others with macadamia nuts; there was something for everyone.

Far away are the biscuits he used to steal as he would sneak out of the kitchens of his parents' home when he was young. They were so hard when crunched into them you could break your teeth, and they tasted like cardboard. He could even see Gulab jamu, balls of milk dipped in sugar, he remembers that they were sold in the market in Qarinus. He hadn't seen them since he had left his country, and they smelled like his memory. It was well delayed at that time.

He became even more skeptical that he'd followed Cullen here.

He saw Cullen wave to him at one of the tables, before walking to the checkout counter where one of the women working in the store was standing. Today it was the woman with the ebony hair, she seemed somewhat surprised by their arrival. Looking curiously in her direction, he could not hear the words they exchanged. But what she said seemed to make Cullen uncomfortable. He blushed, Dorian could see his neck and ears turning red from where he was sitting.

When he joined him, the red on his face was still visible. He let his tail brush against Cullen's knees. He bent down, putting his elbows on the table, bending his head before speaking and smelling the air.

"You smell good enough to eat. "...he moved further forward, letting their knees touch slightly.

Cullen laughed. Dorian could see his cheeks turning red again. He saw him raise his hand to rub his neck nervously.

A shadow of the past passed into Cullen's memory. He could feel a whirlwind of emotion, one that filled the human heart with warmth. The prelude to a crush that was beginning to bloom. Ever since they met, Cullen wanted to make an effort on him, on people like him, on demons. But with every step he took, a shadow loomed in the back of his mind. But there's something pure in the way he struggled to do the right thing, to try to see humanity out of its demonic aspect.

Losing himself in the emotions he could perceive, he passed his hand over the lotus impregnated on his forehead. No matter how it looked, it pleased him human that he could borrow this mark will remain and identify him.

The preludes to a crush that's starting to bloom. Ever since they met, Cullen wanted to make an effort on him, on people like him, on demons. But with every step he took, a shadow loomed in the back of his mind. But there's something pure in the way he struggled to do the right thing, to try to see humanity out of its demonic aspect.

Cullen sat up, sinking into his seat. He looked nervously at Dorian before responding. "It must be the sugar in the pasta, sometimes it's like I'm swimming in it. “

Cullen was still nervous, but he could already feel a warm feeling in him, for him.

That's when the ebony-haired woman came with a tray, a plate, and two coffees, which she arranged between them. She was wearing a black jersey dress, with a flower design printed on it. She moved gracefully.

"Here's your coffee and here's your coffee too, Cullen."

He'll be happy to talk to her. It was nice to meet someone without apprehension about her, he could tell just by the smile she gave him. A golden satin light emanated from her, she cared for Cullen in a friendly way, and she felt relieved for him.

"And one of our little Carac Sweet. I hope you like her, Cullen, think you will. "

That doesn't sound like anything extravagant. The cake was a small green pie with a chocolate decoration on top. He raised an eyebrow, wondering exactly what Cullen was thinking.

"Thank you, Josephine. “

It was her way of asking her friend to leave them alone. He wanted to understand why he was talking to her in the middle of the street. There was a strange gray cloud of confusion in his mind.

He took the fork next to the plate, and took a bite carefully. Chocolate was in the middle of it, it was like a discovery for him. They had just met and Cullen wanted to please him. He had trouble realizing what that meant, it wasn't what he was used to. It wasn't his place to entertain, that kind of dynamic would take him off balance.

But Josephine, she wasn't finished with her interrogation:

"So, Cullen, how's the roommate search going? You had an interview yesterday, right? ” 

Dorian saw Cullen get serious all of a sudden. He was annoyed by the subject, it wasn't the first time they'd talked about it. It changes him from the shy boy he'd seen before.

"Yes, but... let's just say I'd turn down anyone who's a friend of Sera's again. “

This is unexpected information that is most pleasing to hear. He had an opportunity to stay close to Cullen. It's an opportunity he couldn't pass up.

"Looking for a roommate? Because I'm a roommate who could use a place to stay. "He could barely stifle his excitement of being alone with him, his dick swimming next to them.

"I - well, it's not like... Dorian, it's not like that..."

But he stopped when he saw two people behind them, a mother and her young boy, disgusted, she wants him to disappear. He stopped moving, this feeling growing inside him. He didn't want Cullen to see him like this. A monster, a beast that lives off his instincts and corrupts those around him.

"It would be a good idea. Why don't you give it a try? »

Josephine sees how the question made Cullen uncomfortable, she gives him an apologetic look before apologizing and going back behind the counter.

"Well, I'll leave you two alone. »

Dorian looked at Cullen, a serious look on his face. He was looking at him, trying to see through a trap or the detail of a complex painting. That's when he knew one thing, Cullen could feel it. Not physically, but the hold he had over it. He knew instinctively that if he tried Cullen could counter it.

"It would be nice to have you as a roommate. But you haven't even seen the place yet. ”

"It doesn't matter where you are, no matter where you are, you have to be demanding. Even more so if you're the only one cooking. »

They stay a few more minutes, drinking their coffee in silence. Dorian didn't know when he ate the cupcake, he only knows that at one point he went to take a piece and there was nothing left. When Cullen saw it too, he smiled at him, as if he knew it would happen.

Before they left, they made a sign to Josephine. Josephine was still behind the counter, watching them with a mischievous smile on her face. But as her shoulders trembled slightly, she tried to suppress a laugh. Here was a girl more mischievous than she wanted to show.

Josephine watched Cullen and Dorian walk out of the store. She felt a presence behind her. It was Leliana who had finally come out of the kitchen. Her apron covered in flour and icing.

"Josephine, who was the man with Cullen?"

She stepped forward, placing one hand on Josephine's hip and kissing her on the cheek at the same time.

"He says his name is Dorian and, apparently, he's her new roommate. »

Josephine stepped aside for a moment to serve a customer who had just entered. Once the customer had left, she turned to Leliana and with a serious look on her face said, "I bet you two months before he sleeps together. »

"The demons of desire are usually not patient on this point. »

"We're talking about Cullen, honey. »

A smile appeared on Leliana's lips. She seemed to know something, a secret well-kept behind her ice mask.

* * *

Cullen walked for about 20 minutes, before arriving at the front of the building where he lives.

Looking to his right he saw that the stranger, Dorian, was still at his side. The demon was still at his side, at first, he had wanted to tell him to go away, to disappear.

But his reactions, the way he had tried to turn around. It was so human, the demon that he wanted to be human.

They went into the lobby before they pressed a button and called the elevator. There was also a staircase, but when he got to his floor. Cullen had to walk halfway up the hallway before he got to his apartment door.

The ride in the elevator lasted less than a few minutes in a heavy silence. Dorian didn't try to fill the silence for the moment. He preferred to look at the details of Cullen and his surroundings.

If Dorian noticed his hesitation he said nothing, but from the corner of his eye he could see that the demonic tail swing had frozen in full motion. Once on the second floor, Cullen took the keys out of his pocket and stopped in front of a door with the number 203 on it.

Dorian had noticed his hesitation. His silence spoke volumes.

But Dorian was also polite enough not to question him about his partner's lack of discussion. He asked him a completely different kind of question that also ran through his head.

"Do you seem to know the people who work at the bakery? She was enjoying making you blush. It's not to displease me, I must say."

Hearing this question, Cullen released some pressure on his shoulders. The old and simple familiarity of the movements, all to avoid thinking about the present. Or the past.

"I may be working on it. Josephine and I started the shop together just over a year ago. "

"You're the baker? You know that you fulfill certain people's desires. At least the little ones..."

Cullen blushed but after a moment his expression closed up

What if, what if it's a possibility?

There are cogs in his mind wiggling, but their mechanism does not compose only pleasant thoughts.

Cullen was staring at Dorian like he was trouble. A child misbehaving. He needed to fix it. Even if it meant getting rid of this little demon who was trying to tempt him. By wanting to be a part of his life.

"Is that why you talked to me in the first place?"

"Are you afraid that... I'll come into your bed in the middle of the night. Don't worry, I'll only do it if you ask me."

Dorian winked at him, continued walking through the apartment, pushing a random door with his fingertips and looked distractedly inside. It was a coincidence that the room he had opened was Cullen's bedroom.

"No! Now that, no... I... But I..."

Dorian turned and faced Cullen. He hesitated, biting his lower lip as he pondered what to say. He wanted to fit in, and this was pretty new.

"I want to get to know you. That's what I'm right about."

He felt like he knew what he wanted at that moment, but it wasn't the need he was looking for in this man. He felt like he's not like the other man he was with who wants to be better than that. He wanted to help, not like some ridiculous few spirits, he wants to help get what he wants.

Cullen doubted what he was told. Everything Dorian said since they left the little bakery.

"That's it?"

Two gray eyes were staring at Cullen intently. Dorian stepped forward to be less than an arm's length away. Cullen was always alert and tense, waiting to be attacked at the slightest opportunity.

But Dorian didn't take the blatant bait of Cullen's lack of confidence. He smiled at him, before telling the truth again. "Is there more to it than that?"

It wasn't a charming act. It was a real question, that's when Cullen was asking what separates a demon from a spirit. And even what separates them from mortals, except that their empathy manifests itself differently. And that even so the possibility that Dorian was his roommate might scare him, he couldn't be too eager to offer him that opportunity in the words he later uttered.


End file.
